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After coming out of a brief retirement, Tiffany Hayes has averaged more bench points this season than any WNBA player.
CONNECTICUT — When Tiffany Hayes announced her retirement from the WNBA last December, it appeared that an 11-season, year-round career had finally caught up to her.
“I really feel like I’m older now,” Hayes said at the time. “I got a lot of stuff that I really always want to get into but I’m so busy ’cause I’m playing year-round. Plus, my body, playing 11 seasons straight with no breaks, every year, two seasons in a year every time — that’s a lot.”
In an unexpected twist, however, Hayes joined the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces just a few months later. There, the former All-Star and All-WNBA player has emerged as one of the brightest spots of an up-and-down season, establishing herself as a leading candidate for Sixth Woman of the Year.
On paper, coming off the bench could have been a major adjustment — after all, prior to this year, Hayes started nearly every game for 9 consecutive WNBA seasons
But, it hasn’t felt like much of an adjustment at all.
“It’s really not difficult for me,” Hayes told SB Nation. “I’m just not the type that really cares whether I start or come off the bench. I’ve never been that way. It just so happens that I’ve always started. So, nobody’s really had to see that side of me and know that I’m really okay with whatever I have to do for the team. If it was gonna help us win, then I’m cool with it.”
That can be an unusual mindset for a professional athlete. Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White acknowledged last month that being relegated from the starting lineup could be an “emotional” thing for players.
But for Hayes, it’s simply been an opportunity to evaluate the game from the sidelines, and check into the ball game from another perspective.
Hayes has a strong case for WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year
The results speak for themselves: this season, she’s averaged 9.2 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. She’s also shot 50.3% from the field, the second-best average of her career.
“When I come in, I’m just making sure that I don’t bring the energy down, that I’m always adding and not taking away. So whatever it is that we need, whether we’re lacking rebounds, or we’re lacking defense, or whatever we were lacking, I try to come in and just bring that.”
Her impact has been undeniable to her teammates.
“[She brings] energy, a dog-like mentality, just the motor of a person who wants to get better,” A’ja Wilson told SB Nation. “We definitely needed that spark coming off of our bench… those are things you can’t teach.”
“She’s been an established guard in this league, a great two-way guard in this league. She has this pace that she plays with that I just try to match all the time, because it’s unstoppable once it gets going. I’m so glad she came out of retirement for us, because we definitely needed someone like that in our locker room.”
Kelsey Plum knows a thing or two about how to make an impact off the bench; she was awarded Sixth Woman of the Year in 2021, in her breakout season with the Aces. And, the two-time WNBA champion doesn’t think there’s any question that Hayes deserves the honor this season.
“I was in that role, and I think that what’s super important is that it’s the person that impacts winning the most. And if you watch our games, she’s just unbelievable, the way that she comes in and changes the game,” Plum said. “Obviously she can score, but she defends, she changes the pace of the game, she can rebound. She just figured out how to make our team better.”
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The numbers add up: Hayes has averaged more points off the bench than any WNBA player this season. She’s managed to score off of a lightning quick first-step, providing instant offense when she checks in.
“We just need her to come and be super aggressive. That’s why she was brought – to be her,” Plum said. “She’s been wonderful for us, and she’s gonna be a key role for us going into the late season and playoffs.”
Drawing inspiration with the Aces
Tiffany Hayes still feels old. After all, she has nearly 350 WNBA games under her belt, and plenty more overseas, playing on basketball teams in Israel, Brazil, Turkey, and Spain, among others. But, she found something with the Aces that’s made continuing her professional career in the United States worth it.
“It’s just a different feeling,” Hayes said of her year in Las Vegas. “We’re not used to this many losses in one season, and yet, this is still one of the funnest years I’ve ever had in the league.”
For Hayes, the success has been a culmination of a number of factors, including her teammates, the coaching staff, the front office – even the practice players.
“I feel like a professional here, and I think that was really what was missing for me, so to speak. So, I’m just happy to finally be able to experience it.”
The Aces were the first WNBA team to build their own, state-of-the-art practice facility.
“They make it easy for you to come in and have to just only worry about basketball. Practice facility is 10 out of 10, one of the best that I’ve heard of. So that definitely has something to do with it as well.”
Photo by Ian Maule/NBAE via Getty Images
The Las Vegas Aces practice facility
Ultimately, however, what made Hayes fall in love with Las Vegas is the fact that she’s been able to be her authentic self in a different way.
“Everybody has their own thing,” she said. “People are different here – like you’re just able to just be yourself and do what you do, and it just comes easy.”
The Sixth Woman of the Year award would be a recognition of mental growth
Hayes herself believes the area where she’s grown most has been the mental part.
“People really sleep on the mental part of the game,” she said. “And I think I’ve really grown in that area, whether it’s with my skills or with how I approach the game. I’m definitely, really, really, really proud of that.”
If Hayes were to receive the honor, she would become the third current Aces player with a Sixth Woman of the Year award. Alysha Clark won it last year, when the team recorded the best record in the league en route to a second consecutive championship.
“Just to see her hard work and what she did to deserve the award, it would be an honor just to be following in the footsteps of someone that I admire, and is in the locker room with me as well,” Hayes said.
She won’t go so far as to advocate for herself for the honor. But, Tiffany Hayes acknowledged that receiving that official recognition would be really meaningful.
“I let the work speak for me. If you know me, you know that I don’t really self-advocate at all. But if you know, you know – you know?”
Author’s note: This article is part of a series diving into the candidates for WNBA Sixth Player of the Year. Similar stories have been written about Sophie Cunningham of the Phoenix Mercury and Leonie Fiebich of the New York Liberty.
